[Carlman]

Has anyone heard this preamp:
http://www.decware.com/preamp/ztpre.htm  ?

Just thinking out loud... it sure seems to match the premise of Green Mountain Europa's...  

Thanks for any response...

-Carl

[JLM]

Yes, I've heard it.

It was at the 2003 DecFest, a gathering of 15 or so Decware Forum posters and friends hosted by Steve Deckert at his place last fall.  Listened to lots of different stuff and drank too much beer.

Heard it with his top of the line monoblocks and it sounded very good (too many different setups, insufficient control of variables, and too much beer to get too specific).  

Most interesting:  One of the experiences we had that weekend was trying out the ztpre/monoblocks with VERY cheap ($10/pair) speakers that Steve had thrown together and damn if they didn't sound highly decent (dull but no irritations).  Like Steve, I've always been a speakers first kind of guy, but proved the value of good electronics.

[mattybumpkin]

C-man,

Your outta control, like Howard Dean,  EEEAAHHHH!!

How many pre's, speakers, amp's etc. do you have on hand right now?  You aren't thinking about another, are you??

Regards,

"M"

[Carlman]

Well... I have currently 2 pairs of speakers, 1 for sale, 1 about to be returned.  2 pairs on the way.  A sub cabinet being built and veneered... a preamp that hums for me and not for others... another preamp that I'm rolling through a few tubes with at the moment...  with all this boring stuff going on... why not throw another into the mix?  It's just money, right?  Well, it's going to be crunch time soon.  It's all getting decided shortly.  

All that said, I could get a really really good deal on this preamp and I've never heard a bad thing about Decware.  I haven't heard much at all about this preamp, though.  I know there's a TNT reviewer that uses it as his reference, though.  

I've had this option on the table a long time and just decided it might be worth it to try.  It's something I could've bought a long while back but, just didn't know enough to say yes.  It looks like it'd be tough to sell if I don't like it, though.

Well, enough with my hifi drama...

-C

[rkapadia@ROOP]

Carlman,

I certainly enjoyed the ZSLA Signature when I owned it - a bit mellow but not tubey enough for me to recognize it as a tubed component with my eyes closed.  The ZTPre is an excellent, no-nonsense performer.  While I'm not sure I would call it world class, the preamplifier has no noticable performance flaws, and plays music very well.  Without question, the performance far exceeds the price.  I ended up selling my Decware for a Bent Audio TVC back when I was on my quest for absolute neutrality (versus absolute enjoyment), but were I in the same position today I'm not sure I'd make the same decision.

Also, you might want to PM Jackman, as I know he had a ZTPre for a while (and still may).

Kind Regards,

[JLM]

Rup:

That's pretty much how I'd characterize Decware stuff -

1. well built, by hand, in America's heartland

2. not warm or tubey sounding

3. dry, quiet, accurate, well controlled, good imaging

4. very good sound at a good value

[Carlman]

It'll be interesting to see how it compares to the Eastern Minimax and Purist... However, the Purist demo is still pretty far off and Bill is probably wondering what my deal is at this point.. I've had the Minimax for a month.    Of course, much of that was break-in... and now I'm trying different tubes.

Thanks for the info so far.    Another listening session is to come... this time with much better room treatments.

-C

[mgalusha]

Carl,

Not sure how close the ZSLA-1 is sonically to the ZTPre but I finished building one last night (thread here) and so far am quite happy with the performance. I think Rup's description applies to this piece as well. It seems very musical. I'm really looking forward to listening after some more break in.

mike

[bbaker6262]

I owned the ZTPRE for a couple years and was quite happy with it.  Great transparent sound.  See my review on Audioreview.com.  Switches on the rear of the unit and small number of inputs/outputs are the only downsides. Also can't easily tube roll since tubes are fully enclosed.

I'm Currently not using a preamp but will probably considering these in the future.

1. Welborne Ultrapath BP
2. upcoming ModWright tube line stage.
3. DiyHiFiSupply.com Django or other S&B tx102 based TVC